Cynthia Lo Bessette

Lo Bessette studied at the University of Michigan, graduating with honors with an undergraduate degree in East Asian studies and economics, and later received her law degree from the Fordham University School of Law.⁠[1][1]

She has said that after law school she joined a very large law firm, working as a first-year associate on a range of projects, from a very large litigation matter to the setup and launch of a new hedge fund, and that setting up private funds was her first introduction to asset management; after a few years at the firm she moved in-house to one of the largest asset managers of the time, working on fund setups and product development for retail mutual funds and non-U.S. business units.⁠[2][2][2][2][2]

From April 2008 to September 2009 she was assistant general counsel of Lord Abbett & Co. LLC, and from October 2009 to February 2012 its deputy general counsel; from February 2012 to March 2015 she was corporate counsel of Jennison Associates LLC, also serving as deputy chief legal officer from April 2013 to March 2015.⁠[3][3]

In March 2015, Lo Bessette joined the management company of OppenheimerFunds as senior vice president and deputy general counsel; in February 2016 she became executive vice president, general counsel and secretary, as well as chief legal officer of several of its advisory and distribution companies, and she also served as secretary and chief legal officer of the OppenheimerFunds funds. She was also a director of its U.K. affiliate, OFI International, Ltd, and of OppenheimerFunds ICAV.⁠[3][3][3][4]

She has said that after OppenheimerFunds was sold to Invesco she moved to Fidelity, and that consolidation in asset management both creates efficiencies and scale and opens up new opportunities.⁠[2][2]

In August 2019, Lo Bessette joined Fidelity Investments as chief legal officer, secretary and senior vice president of Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC and senior vice president and deputy general counsel of FMR LLC, and from 2019 served as secretary and chief legal officer of the Fidelity funds; from 2021 she was also secretary of FD Funds GP LLC, FD Funds Holding LLC and FD Funds Management LLC.⁠[4][5][5][5][5]

As head of Fidelity’s Asset Management and Digital Assets Legal, she led a team providing legal and regulatory guidance across asset management and built a team supporting the Fidelity Digital Assets business and blockchain research and development at the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology. She has said that after joining she took on legal support for the digital asset team’s investment products alongside the alternative investment business, which sparked her personal interest in crypto; the podcast host Lee Hanson noted that she created a digital assets team in 2022.⁠[4][4][2][2][2]

In 2023, Lo Bessette moved from legal to a business role as head of Fidelity’s Digital Asset Management division, leading teams responsible for the investment framework and infrastructure for crypto research, asset tokenization, digital asset trading and settlement, as well as new investment products and solutions, business development and digital asset education. The appointment put her in charge of the team focused on Fidelity’s bitcoin exchange-traded fund. She is also president of FD Funds Management LLC, the sponsor of Fidelity’s spot bitcoin fund, and signs the fund’s annual report as president (principal executive officer).⁠[6][6][4][4][4][4][4]

On January 11, 2024, Fidelity launched the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), a spot bitcoin exchange-traded product. Lo Bessette said Fidelity had long believed that a spot-priced exchange-traded product would be an efficient way for investors to gain exposure to bitcoin, that the company had engaged in constructive dialogue with the SEC for years, and that the authorization signaled positive momentum for the industry and more choice for investors who want to engage with digital assets.⁠[7][7][7]

The Boston Globe ranked her No. 44 on its 2024 Tech Power Players 50 list for helping Fidelity stand out from its peers in the crypto industry.⁠[6][6]

On July 23, 2024, Fidelity launched the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH). Lo Bessette said the product drew on more than a decade of Fidelity’s experience in digital assets, with careful index and product design, a dedicated operations and trading team and strong security, and that the strong investor engagement with the spot bitcoin product since its January launch showed the market was ready for more ways to access digital assets.⁠[8][8][8]

On the Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast released on July 30, 2024, Lo Bessette spoke with host Lee Hanson about her move from lawyer to business leader. She said that whether leading lawyers or business people, a leader needs to provide a clear vision, ensure the team is aligned and acknowledge its members’ contributions; her advice to legal leaders hoping to move into business roles was to seek roles that give them joy in their day-to-day work.⁠[2][2][2][2][2]

Lo Bessette was listed, as head of digital asset management at Fidelity Investments, among the confirmed speakers at TOKEN2049TOKEN2049TOKEN2049 is a global series of cryptocurrency and Web3 industry conferences that originated in Hong Kong; as of October 2026 it centers on its Singapore and Dubai editions and has announced a New York edition to be added in June 2027. The Singapore edition is held at Marina Bay Sands, coinciding with the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.Open the full entry Singapore 2026. The main conference was held on October 7–8, 2026, at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.⁠[9][9][10][10]